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Fiction. Literature. Science Fiction. HTML:Delve into the history of the sinister Count Dooku in this audio original set in a galaxy far, far away�?�. Darth Tyranus. Count of Serenno. Leader of the Separatists. A red saber, unsheathed in the dark. But who was he, before he became the right hand of the Sith? As Dooku courts a new apprentice, the hidden truth of the Sith Lord�??s past begins to come to light. Dooku�??s life began as one of privilege�??born within the stony walls of his family�??s estate, orbited by the Funeral Moon where the bones of his ancestors lie interred. But soon his Jedi abilities are recognized and he is taken from his home to be trained in the ways of the Force by the legendary Master Yoda. As he hones his power, Dooku rises through the ranks, befriending fellow Jedi Sifo-Dyas and taking a padawan of his own, the promising Qui-Gon Jinn�??and tries to forget the life that he once led. But he finds himself drawn by a strange fascination with the Jedi Master Lene Kostana, and the mission she undertakes for the Order: finding and studying ancient relics of the Sith, in preparation for the eventual return of the deadliest enemies the Jedi have ever faced. Caught between the world of the Jedi, the ancient responsibilities of his lost home, and the alluring power of the relics, Dooku struggles to stay in the light�??even as the darkness begins to fall. Narrated by a full cast: Orlagh Cassidy as Asajj Ventress Euan Morton as Dooku Pete Bradbury as Gretz Droom Jonathan Davis as Qui-Gon Jinn Neil Hellegers as Ramil Sean Kenin as Sifo-Dyas January LaVoy as Jor Aerith Saskia Maarleveld as Jenza Carol Monda as Lene Kostana Robert Petkoff as Ky Narec Rebecca Soler as Yula Braylon And M… (more)
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And unfortunately, it is personality it could sorely have used. The story has two narratives: A framing narrative following Ventress searching for Dooku's sister, and a main narrative set years before, revealed as she discovers various records of Dooku's long career as a Jedi before leaving the order. The former, surprisingly, was the stronger aspect of the story. Dooku's Jedi career is, frankly, a bit boring. Nothing that happened to him or by his actions was particularly exciting or surprising, nothing felt like a major reveal, and by the end when he does leave the order, I didn't feel like any real groundwork had been laid for him in his later years deciding on joining the Sith instead. For one of my favourite villains in the entire Star Wars universe, this feels like a huge lost opportunity.
But at least the Ventress sections worked fairly well, and I was quite happy with the ending it provided the story, even if the ending did not really feel earned by any of the actual plot, and only by my pre-existing familiarity with the characters.
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Scott’s writing draws upon a great deal of Star Wars lore in his narrative. For example, much of the now-Legends content focused on Dooku’s prowess with a lightsaber and the various techniques, which Scott uses in his portrayal of Dooku training his students (pg. 264). Further, references to the former Sith Empire abound (pgs. 43-45, 99, 228, 410), perhaps as a way to help set up future narratives following the conclusion of the Skywalker Saga. Additionally, at one point Jedi Master Lene Kostana teaches Dooku and Sifo-Dyas a meditation that recalls The Ones from Star Wars: The Clone Wars episodes, “Overlords,” “Altar of Mortis,” and “Ghosts of Mortis” (pgs. 256-257). The story itself serves as a companion to Claudia Gray’s novel, Master & Apprentice, which previously examined Dooku’s relationship with his Padawans Qui-Gon Jinn and Rael Averross. Linking the Jedi Order’s lapses of the prequel era with the events of the sequel trilogy, Scott portrays Yoda explaining the Lost Jedi to a group of Padawans. Yoda says, “Remember them, we must. Honor them, yes. Learn from our failure” (pg. 77). In this, he echoes (foreshadows?) Yoda’s lesson to Luke from The Last Jedi, “The greatest teacher, failure is.”
The story began as an audiobook, with this edition featuring both the dialogue and directions for sound effects and creature voices. Reading this book is similar to reading Brian Daley’s radio play for National Public Radio’s dramatization of the original Star Wars films or Laurent Bouzereau’s Star Wars: The Annotated Screenplays. Enjoyable as it is to read, one cannot help but realize the full effect of the story is best achieved by listening to the audio play. Still, Cavan Scott’s story is sure to delight Star Wars fans new and old.
This is currently the first canon Star Wars book, chronologically, so I've started here, and I listened to the audiobook. Bear in mind I don't really enjoy listening to audiobooks as I need to be doing something with my hands, and then I distract myself, and then before I know it, the annoying talking in my ear is stopping me from getting on with the things I'm trying to concentrate on...so it took me a few days. I thought the actors were mostly very good - the Asaji Ventress was great, luckily, as she's the main narrator. Some of the others I found myself listening for the differences between their voices and their screen voices more than I listened to what they were saying, so I found that distracting too. The story is basically a flashback to the life as a young padawan, of Dooku, and a tiny 'now' bit of adult Dooku and Asaji (who is the one reading all these journals and holocrons of Dooku's youth). Bit weird, tbh. Didn't really feel the idea that Asaji is reading all these things to find out what Dooku was like before. The YoungDooku plot kind of stretches across his entire career from unapprenticed padawan to him leaving the Jedi order, and told a slightly disjointed story because of it. I think in the end I found the story fine, not amazing, not terrible. It was alright.
I *did* enjoy all the little details that weren't plot as much as they were continuity , and all the information adding to our canon knowledge of life before The Phantom Menace. Masters and Padawans, who were friends, why these people turn out as they do, that sort of thing. You meet some characters who crop up again in later books, but not in the films - this especially ties in well with Master and Apprentice by Claudia Gray, the current next book in the canon timeline. Reading these two books and then moving on the The Phantom Menace gives you more insight into the Master/Apprentice chain of Dooku - Qui-Gon - Obi-Wan in what feels a very satisfying way, and *thats's* really why I'm doing this. I'm looking forward to Dooku turning up in my prequels re-watch and seeing how/if I can see this young earnest Dooku from this book, in the older film version. Hearing Dooku struggle with his apprenticeship under his master and then his own teaching of his assorted padawans, and then reading Master and Apprentice and the struggle of Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan to work together, makes their strong and mostly effortless bond in Phantom Menace feel a much more rewarding thing to experience. I liked most of the supporting characters and they felt like characters you could imagine seeing in other Star Wars media without any surprise. I'm sure I'll see more of some of them as I go through this process! (No spoilers, please! I've only done the films, some games, and Rebels, so I've got a lot to look forward to in The Clone Wars). If I find the book reduced at some point I'd consider picking it up and reading it as I'd imagine I'd get into it a bit more than the audiobook, but if there's a future canon release that's initially only audio, I'd...hmm, I'd *consider* it. This wasn't too bad an experience for me! ;)
This is currently the first canon Star Wars book, chronologically, so I've started here, and I listened to the audiobook. Bear in mind I don't really enjoy listening to audiobooks as I need to be doing something with my hands, and then I distract myself, and then before I know it, the annoying talking in my ear is stopping me from getting on with the things I'm trying to concentrate on...so it took me a few days. I thought the actors were mostly very good - the Asaji Ventress was great, luckily, as she's the main narrator. Some of the others I found myself listening for the differences between their voices and their screen voices more than I listened to what they were saying, so I found that distracting too. The story is basically a flashback to the life as a young padawan, of Dooku, and a tiny 'now' bit of adult Dooku and Asaji (who is the one reading all these journals and holocrons of Dooku's youth). Bit weird, tbh. Didn't really feel the idea that Asaji is reading all these things to find out what Dooku was like before. The YoungDooku plot kind of stretches across his entire career from unapprenticed padawan to him leaving the Jedi order, and told a slightly disjointed story because of it. I think in the end I found the story fine, not amazing, not terrible. It was alright.
I *did* enjoy all the little details that weren't plot as much as they were continuity , and all the information adding to our canon knowledge of life before The Phantom Menace. Masters and Padawans, who were friends, why these people turn out as they do, that sort of thing. You meet some characters who crop up again in later books, but not in the films - this especially ties in well with Master and Apprentice by Claudia Gray, the current next book in the canon timeline. Reading these two books and then moving on the The Phantom Menace gives you more insight into the Master/Apprentice chain of Dooku - Qui-Gon - Obi-Wan in what feels a very satisfying way, and *thats's* really why I'm doing this. I'm looking forward to Dooku turning up in my prequels re-watch and seeing how/if I can see this young earnest Dooku from this book, in the older film version. Hearing Dooku struggle with his apprenticeship under his master and then his own teaching of his assorted padawans, and then reading Master and Apprentice and the struggle of Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan to work together, makes their strong and mostly effortless bond in Phantom Menace feel a much more rewarding thing to experience. I liked most of the supporting characters and they felt like characters you could imagine seeing in other Star Wars media without any surprise. I'm sure I'll see more of some of them as I go through this process! (No spoilers, please! I've only done the films, some games, and Rebels, so I've got a lot to look forward to in The Clone Wars). If I find the book reduced at some point I'd consider picking it up and reading it as I'd imagine I'd get into it a bit more than the audiobook, but if there's a future canon release that's initially only audio, I'd...hmm, I'd *consider* it. This wasn't too bad an experience for me! ;)